The present invention relates to a milking arrangement for animals, wherein the milking arrangement comprises a rotary platform, driving means adapted to provide a rotary motion of the platform, and milking stalls adapted to house animals to be milked on the platform.
In a conventional rotary milking parlour, the cows walk on to an annular rotating platform and enter a milking stall. An operator or a milking robot located on the outside or on the inside of the annular platform, attaches teat cups to the teats of the cows. The platform rotates usually continuously with a constant low speed. When a milking process is finished, a removing device removes the teat cups from the cows and the milked cows leave the milking stall and the platform.
When a milking arrangement comprising a rotary platform is used, the cow flow to the rotary parlour will vary during a twenty four hours period. Thus, all milking stalls on the platform will not be continuously occupied during periods of poor cow traffic to the milking arrangement. This is not effective and it may result in hygienic problems. During periods of poor cow traffic, certain milking stalls can be vacant during a relatively long period. If teat cups and milk lines in a milking stall are not in use during a period, they will not be rinsed by milk flowing through the milk lines. It is here a risk that remaining milk residues in the teat cups and in the milk lines constitutes a breeding ground for microorganisms such as bacteria.